Singapore History Gallery
The Singapore History Gallery is a gallery located within the vicinity of the National Museum of Singapore. The gallery adopts a story-telling approach, unveiling different perspectives through tales of the past. The Companion Instead of using museum labels to describe artifacts, the gallery uses an audio tour device known as the Companion to guide visitors around the gallery. Each Companion consists of an LCD display, a pair of earphones and a keypad which enables guest to enjoy audio, visual and textual content which complement the National Museum's physical collection of artefacts.Guest can read descriptions, listen to expert opinions and dramatised scenarios, as well as watch videos related to these artifacts by entering in the zone code located on the floor, followed by the numbers next to the artifacts. The Companion is designed for anyone aged seven and above. Available in English Language, Mandarin, Malay and Japanese, a children's guide is also available in English. Voice talents include FLY Entertainment artistes, Brendon Fernandez, Nora Samosir, Lim Yu Beng, Timothy Nga and MediaCorp artistes Alaric Tay, Lim Kay Tong, Beatrice Chang, Gerald Chew and Terrance Yap. Others include British actress Elizabeth Tan and American actor Daniel H. Jenkins. Tour The gallery is divided into eight sections of Singapore's History. The several lists below shows highlighted artefacts in each section. This bronze star represents that the artefact is one of the 12 treasures of the museum. Immediately at the entrance of the gallery, a staff will give a brief tour of the companion, FLY Entertainment artiste Brendon Fernandez (the companion of the gallery) will later give a clearer explanation of the companion before visitors enter the main gallery. Singapore Over 700 Years Singapore Over 700 Years, is the first multimedia installation visitors experience when entering the Singapore History Gallery. The space in which the multi-projector installation is shown consists of a 23-metre high drum into which visitors enter, crossing a bridge spanning the interior, before descending two levels down a spiralling ramp to the rest of the History Gallery space. HDMI images span the entire 360-degree glass surface of the drum’s interior. The juxtaposition of rural/traditional and urban/modern images conveys a day in the life of Singapore. Set to a musical background of excerpts from Vladimir Martynov’s symphony Singapore:A Geopolitical Utopia, sequences illustrate the culture’s efficient and meritocratic work habits, its love of technology, its need for ceaseless updating and change, and its frenetic communication and transportation networks. These are contrasted with more personal portrayals of Singaporeans engaged in their daily routines.A snippet of the original footage can be found on the production site. In action As guests enter the lower drum of Singapore Over 700 Years - 1400 to 2015, Fernandez gives a brief tour of the companion. He then asks each guest to decide whether to continue watching the show or to enter the main gallery. Some of the exhibits do include - * 14th Century * Sejarah Singapura * Founding in 1819 (1800 - 1825) * Straits Settlements (1825 - 1867) * Crown Colony (1867 - 1941) * Battle of Singapore (1941 - 1942) * Japanese Occupation (1942 - 1945) * Post-War Period (1945 - 1949) * Self-Governance (1950s) * Merger (1963 - 1964) * Independence (1960s & 1970s) * Modern Developments (1980s & 1990s) * Singapore Millennium (2000 - 2015) * The Future Singapore (which is after SG50) * In Memoriam: Lee Kuan Yew See also *Goh Seng Choo Gallery *National Museum of Singapore *Singapore Living Galleries References *National Museum Reveals the Entire Collection of William Farquhar’s Natural History Drawings *The Companion Now Comes in Chinese! *The National Museum of Singapore Reaches Out to the Malay Community with the Malay Companion *National Museum's Gallery Companion Goes Japanese *The Making of the Singapore History Gallery: Some Personal Reflections *Singapore History Gallery External links *Official Website *National Museum of Singapore Website *Singapore History Gallery Credits *VR Tour of Singapore History Gallery:14th Century Section *VR Tour of Singapore History Gallery:Japanese Occupation Section Category:National Museum of Singapore